Latest news with #ArticleII
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump hints at "deal" with Harvard — as judge lets Harvard keep enrolling foreign students
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University's ability to enroll international students — but President Trump said Friday he could strike a "deal" to resolve his battles with the Ivy League school within days. The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs bars the government from cutting off Harvard's access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal database that keeps track of student visa applications. The Boston-based judge had previously blocked the policy through a temporary restraining order. Minutes later on Friday, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that his administration has been "working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so." "They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right," the president wrote. "If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be "mindbogglingly" HISTORIC, and very good for our Country." Mr. Trump did not provide further details on the settlement talks. CBS News has reached out to Harvard and the White House for comment on the discussions. The Department of Homeland Security told Harvard in May it was revoking its student visa system certification, telling the school "it is a privilege to enroll foreign students" — and the school "lost this privilege" by allegedly failing to deal with campus antisemitism. Harvard quickly sued, arguing the school was being punished for defying the administration's political agenda, and Burroughs sided with Harvard. Mr. Trump issued a separate order earlier this month barring most international students from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard. Burroughs blocked that move two weeks ago, though her ruling Friday did not address Mr. Trump's order. In reaction to the judge's Friday ruling, a Harvard spokesperson said: "The Court order allows Harvard to continue enrolling international students and scholars while the case moves forward. Harvard will continue to defend its rights—and the rights of its students and scholars." DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Burroughs' ruling is "in direct conflict with the President's constitutionally vested powers under Article II and those granted by federal law." "It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that," McLaughlin said. The battle over international students could have grave consequences for Harvard, where about one in four students hail from outside the United States. Mr. Trump suggested last month that Harvard should cap its foreign student enrollment at 15%, and share more information with the government so it can determine whether prospective students are "troublemakers." Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also ordered "additional vetting" for anybody who wants to travel to Harvard from abroad, including students as well as staff, faculty, guest speakers and tourists, CBS News has previously reported. It's part of a wider back-and-forth between Harvard and the Trump administration. In April, the administration pushed the school to make a range of policy changes in order to maintain its "financial relationship" with the government, including external audits of some academic departments and an end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. When the school refused, the government said it would cut off billions of dollars in grants to Harvard. Other universities have faced similar pressure, including demands for policy changes — often zeroing in on the schools' handling of pro-Palestinian protests — and grant freezes. Earlier this week, the State Department announced guidelines for vetting student visa applicants' social media accounts, telling staff to look for signs of "hostility" toward the U.S. And some international students who are already in the U.S. have faced scrutiny. Authorities have detained several students linked to pro-Palestinian activism, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi from Columbia and Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts. Mahdawi and Ozturk have since been released, and a judge ordered Khalil's release Friday. SpaceX Starship upper stage blows up Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico with destructive winds, major storm surge "Jaws" premiered 50 years ago, but it's a wonder it got made at all
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Why are we still talking about Biden's presidency?
On June 4, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the White House Counsel and the Attorney General to investigate former President Biden and his aides to see if they 'abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority.' 'This conspiracy,' the order says, 'marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.' Democratic politics invites citizens and political leaders to leave the past alone, except in extreme cases like genocide or apartheid. It requires victorious parties not to try to rewrite it to suit the fancies and fantasies of the moment. However, Trump seems unable to resist casting his eye backward to denigrate and impugn his predecessor. His memorandum called 'Reviewing Certain Executive Actions' is just the latest example. The president's Joe Biden-focused memorandum comes from the same place as his election-denialism. He wants to discredit everything Biden touched and sweep the last four years into the dustbin of history. Readers of literature may recognize this impulse. George Orwell's classic novel, 1984, offers a startling and imaginative rendition. In that book, Orwell describes a political party bent on securing its power and dominating the society that it ruled. The party creates a Ministry of Truth and charges it to change narratives of the past to suit the whims of the Leader. It seeks, to quote from the book, to create a world where 'nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.' Eerie. Recall the moment in February when Trump passed out 'TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING' hats to members of the press, and his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, intoned the administration's mantra, 'Always say yes to the president.' Another literary classic, Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon, conjured another fictive regime intent on revising the past to suit its purposes. In its version of history, 'The party,' one of Koestler's characters says, 'was always right, even when it was wrong.' Later, he says, 'The liquidation of the past is the precondition for the acceptance of the future.' This seems an apt description of Trump's worldview. As the Organization of American Historians explains, the Trump Administration proposes 'to rewrite history.' That impulse animates last week's presidential memorandum. There, the president asserts that 'For years, President Biden suffered from serious cognitive decline. … Biden's cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even 'worse' in private, and those closest to him 'tried to hide it' from the public.' 'Notwithstanding these well-documented issues,' the memorandum continues, 'the White House issued over 1,200 Presidential documents, appointed 235 judges to the federal bench, and issued more pardons and commutations than any administration in United States history. Although the authority to take these executive actions, along with many others,' it continues, 'is constitutionally committed to the President, there are serious doubts as to the decision-making process and even the degree of Biden's awareness of these actions being taken in his name.' Note the impersonal construction: 'There are serious doubts.' It is left unspecified who is experiencing or entertaining those doubts. It might help, however, to recall Lutnick's admonition to his colleagues in the administration: 'Always say yes to the president.' Driving home its point, the president's memorandum offers this insinuation: 'If his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity … that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden's name.' As I noted in March, when Trump first raised a question about the Biden Administration's use of an autopen, there is nothing to this. The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a 2005 opinion that presidents can validly sign bills by directing subordinates to 'affix the President's signature to it.' That should settle the matter. Biden's judicial appointments, grants of clemency, and other official acts are not going anywhere. But that is not the point of Trump's fixation on Biden and his directive. It is instead another sign of a president hoping to dismantle the legacy that his predecessor left behind, or, if he can't do that, to use his power to tarnish it. The comedian Jon Stewart was on to something last August when he said of Trump's obsession with all things Biden, 'It's all he knows. He misses (Biden) so much … He would give everything for just one more moment with 'crooked Joe.'' Whatever the psychological roots of Trump's Biden fixation are, it does this country a great disservice. It stokes grievance, resentment, and division. It invites the kind of corrosive cynicism and disrespect that makes it hard for partisans to take a breath and agree on a shared version of history. Trump is entitled to conjure conspiracy theories about Biden and his advisors, but Americans would be well advised not to join him. Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
US judge orders release of pro-Palestinian Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil
A US federal judge has ordered the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who was detained after joining pro-Palestinian protests. Judge Michael Farbiarz said Khalil's continued detention was causing "serious harm to his career, family, and freedom of speech". However, Khalil, a legal US resident, will stay in custody until at least Friday, June 13, while the government considers an appeal. He must also pay a $1 bond before he can be released. First arrest under Trump's crackdown Khalil was detained on March 8 by immigration agents in the lobby of his university housing. He was later sent to a detention centre in Louisiana. His arrest was the first under a crackdown by US President Donald Trump targeting pro-Gaza student protesters. Khalil's lawyers say his detention is an attempt to suppress free speech. "The court's decision is the most significant vindication yet of Mahmoud's rights," said Ramzi Kassem, one of Khalil's lawyers. "But we aren't out of the woods until Mahmoud is free and back home with his wife and child." Wife hopes for Father's Day reunion Khalil's wife, Noor Abdalla, a US citizen, said she hopes he can return to New York in time to celebrate his first Father's Day with their baby son, Deen. "This is the news we've been waiting over three months for," she said in a statement shared by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is also representing Khalil. US government plans to appeal The Department of Homeland Security stated that it would appeal the judge's ruling. 'Today's ruling delays justice and seeks to undermine the President's constitutionally vested powers under Article II,' said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the agency. 'We expect a higher court to vindicate us in this.' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed authority to deport Khalil under a rarely used law that allows the removal of people who pose 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States". But Judge Farbiarz had earlier said that trying to expel Khalil under that law was likely unconstitutional. Career at risk Judge Farbiarz noted that Khalil's green card had been revoked, and this had cost him a job offer from Oxfam International. He also said Khalil had avoided taking part in further protests, fearing more punishment. 'The Court finds as a matter of fact that the petitioner's career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled and this adds up to irreparable harm,' the judge wrote. Farbiarz underlined in his ruling that the government has also argued it is detaining and deporting Khalil in part because of alleged omissions on his green card application. But the judge said evidence presented by his attorneys showed lawful permanent residents are virtually never detained for such a thing.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge says government must release Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil, but has until Friday to appeal
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the government must release Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student whom the Trump administration is trying to deport over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. But Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, will remain in custody until at least Friday, giving the government time to appeal, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey said Wednesday. 'The court's decision is the most significant vindication yet of Mahmoud's rights,' said Ramzi Kassem, one of Khalil's lawyers. 'But we aren't out of the woods until Mahmoud is free and back home with his wife and child.' Dr. Noor Abdalla, Khalil's wife and a U.S. citizen, expressed hope he could be returned to New York in time to enjoy his first Father's Day with his son, Deen, who was born while Khalil has been held in a federal detention center in Jena, Louisiana. 'This is the news we've been waiting over three months for," she said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is also representing Khalil. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the administration intends to appeal. 'Today's ruling delays justice and seeks to undermine the President's constitutionally vested powers under Article II," Tricia McLaughlin, an agency spokesperson, said in a statement. 'We expect a higher court to vindicate us in this.' Khalil was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, the first arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza. He was then flown thousands of miles away to Louisiana. Khalil's lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, accusing the Trump administration of trying to suppress free speech. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he can deport Khalil, citing a rarely used statute that gives him the authority to expel those who pose 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.' Farbiarz had ruled earlier that expelling Khalil from the U.S. on those grounds was likely unconstitutional. In his new ruling Wednesday, the judge said that Khalil had shown that his continued detention is causing irreparable harm to his career, his family and his free speech rights. However, the judge put his order on hold until 9:30 a.m. Friday to allow the government time to appeal. He also required Khalil to post a $1 bond before he is freed. Farbiarz cited Khalil's statement to the court last week that the revocation of his green card has damaged his career prospects, including a decision by Oxfam International to rescind a job offer to serve as a policy adviser. The judge also noted that the decision deterred Khalil from engaging in constitutionally protected protests. "The Court finds as a matter of fact that the Petitioner's career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled — and this adds up to irreparable harm,' the judge wrote. Farbiarz noted in his ruling that the government has also argued it is detaining and deporting Khalil in part because of alleged omissions on his green card application. But the judge said evidence presented by his attorneys showed lawful permanent residents are virtually never detained for such a thing. Khalil, in his statement to the court last week, also disputed that he wasn't forthcoming on the application. For example, he said he was never employed by or served as an 'officer' of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, as the administration claims, but completed an internship approved by the university as part of his graduate studies. The judge's decision comes after several other legal residents targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri. Khalil isn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia, but the Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country. They say such protesters express views that are antisemitic and 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil, then an international affairs graduate student, served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists. He wasn't among the demonstrators arrested, but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics. The White House accused Khalil of 'siding with terrorists,' but has yet to give any evidence for the claim.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump opens up about ‘the biggest scandal' in many years in foreign visit
President Donald Trump is calling attention to what he believes is 'the biggest scandal of the last many years,' outside of the 'rigged election of 2020″: former President Joe Biden's use of the autopen. During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week, the president opined on appropriate uses for the mechanized signing device, claiming that the Biden administration used an autopen to advance executive orders and other directives that Biden was not fully aware of. 'I know some of the people that use that autopen, and those are not the people that had the same ideologies as Joe Biden,' he said, going on to call the people in question 'radical left lunatics' who 'didn't get elected.' After calling Biden's use of the tool 'inappropriate,' the president claimed that is 'not a big Autopen person' and that he only uses the autopen for responding to letters from citizens sent to him. 'To me, that's where autopens start and stop,' he said. The prior day, Trump issued an investigation into 'whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President,' per his memorandum. This includes a closer look at 'the policy documents for which the autopen was used, including clemency grants, Executive Orders, Presidential memoranda, or other Presidential policy decisions.' 'In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,' the memorandum states. 'This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.' Per ABC, Biden responded with a statement asserting that he 'made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations.' 'Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' the statement added. Judge blocks Trump admin from banning Harvard international students from entering US 'Singling out': Harvard president says Trump admin is retaliating against institution Mass. lawmakers get bad grades on industry report card. But who's failing whom? | John L. Micek 'Government vendetta': Harvard fights back after Trump blocks its foreign students from US 'Not a great day': Trump to visiting German leader on D-Day invasion that led to end of Nazis Read the original article on MassLive.
